Focus on Budget, Cultural Travel, and Working in Europe

The plane touches down on a runway sandwiched between a craggy inland promontory and the Mediterranean, which heralds a gleaming welcome to Sicily. It is early December as I leave the airport in a lilliputian silver rental car to begin a mini odyssey.

Western Sicily is less overwhelmed by tourists than the eastern part. I am a solo woman traveler in Western Sicily in the off season. When I arrive early in the week the restaurants that are not already closed for the season are shut tight Sunday and Monday, and the solitude hangs like the weight of Hercules...

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As it turns out, my husband’s enthusiasm for mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella) is what led us to branch out from other budget accommodations such as convents and monasteries in our most recent trip to Italy and give agriturismo a try...

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Due to the region’s geography of isolated valleys separated by tall mountains, South Tyrol has not only maintained its traditional livelihood based upon agriculture, but also its age-old customs and traditions. Folkloric groups and brass bands are popular everywhere, and each village has its own traditional costumes, favorite folk dances, and traditional dishes. .. Read more... 

Learning a language in a new country can be one of the most memorable experiences you can have while traveling. Working and studying in a different place goes one step further, carving out your place in a community, contributing to its growth and your own. But with tightening borders, piling paper work, and growing unemployment, how do you convince an employer to open his doors to you as one who has just arrived in the country, will be leaving in less than a year, and are less than fluent in the language? It may sound impossible, but by studying French and participating in one of the following programs, you can mix work and fun under the Mediterranean sun...

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Malta has a bewildering number of famous sights, monuments, and museums, and it is easy to find out about them and visit them. These places also tend to get crowded, particularly in summer high season. But with its eventful 7,000 year old history, Malta is like a huge open air museum that bears witness to a glorious past, and it is much more than the sum of its sights. After visiting the main attractions-and do not try to see them all as you will get exhausted -you can see another aspect of the islands by traveling to less well known and seldom visited areas...

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Barcelona is, in many ways, the ideal city to teach English. It is difficult to avoid sounding clich when describing Barcelona with its stunning beaches, Mediterranean climate, uniquely rich culture, and legendary nightlife. The cost of living in Spain is also comparatively cheaper than other western European countries. Moreover, there is plenty of work for English teachers. The problem for North Americans is how to find teaching work legally. The barrier is especially daunting for those people sitting at their computers thinking of making the move to Europe, but who understandably want to secure a job before they cross the Atlantic. Working as a language assistant is a great way to experience legally living abroad in Spain with job security...

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After attending a weekend teachers' hiring fair in London, I received two offers. One was in Switzerland. The second was from a bilingual school on the coast of Spain. The pay and benefits packages were the same. Which to choose? I had not been to Switzerland, but I liked the idea of its order and cleanliness. I had been to Spain a couple of times but I was a non-smoker and disliked noise, and Spain is a country that makes a fetish out of noise. During the midday week-long fireworks celebration of the Fallas mascletas, for example, there seems to be a competition to produce the loudest explosions using pyrotechnics. Yet, in the end, the answer seemed easy enough. I packed my sunscreen and swimsuit and moved to Valencia, Spain...

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Since I had come to Madrid to study and for enjoyment, I decided on option two: to come to class...

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...As Portugal's capital, Lisbon is the recipient of all the peoples whom the Portuguese Empire absorbed and invited into the great pan-Portuguese global party that really makes its mark in the capital. Here, traditional Portuguese cuisine mingles with Cape Verdean, Brazilian, Mozambiquean, and Goan cuisines among many others. Such diversity pairs well with the locally grown and harvested fruits, vegetables, fishes, meats, nuts, and fowl, making for one of Europe's most interesting culinary hotspots... Read more... 

When mentioning Portuguese wines, everyone seems to head right to port and O Porto, which is a great direction. But Portugal also produces many great wines, a tradition that includes Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and the monastic wine traditions of the Middle Ages...

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Seasoned travelers will tell you that the best way to get a sense of your surroundings is by foot. But on your next trip to Eastern Europe, try bringing a pair of running shoes along with your walking ones.

When it comes to actively exploring a city-from hitting the streets and sprinting straight to the heart of hubs like Budapest, Prague, and Krakow-running may not be the first means of transport which might spring to mind. But it is one of the best, and it often leads to benefits and opportunities that you may not otherwise experience. ...

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Seville, Andalucia's capital, has over 30 language academies and is an excellent place to teach English abroad-whether you are European or North American-but is the market flourishing as normal? With over 3.5 million unemployed in Spain and over one million in Andalucia, how long will it be before the crisis starts to affect the TEFL Industry in Seville?...

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